The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is located in Western Europe, and consists of the island of Great Britain (which includes England, Scotland, and Wales) and the six northern counties of the island of Ireland, which are officially known as Northern Ireland and are commonly called Ulster. The United Kingdom also consists of several smaller islands, from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea between England and Ireland to the Channel Islands such as Sark, Guernsey, and Jersey, which are located in the English Channel very close to France. The Shetland, Orkney, and Hebrides island chains are located in the North Sea off the coast of Scotland.

The United Kingdom is geographically diverse. It consists of approximately 244,820 square kilometers (95,000 square miles), and is about the size of the state of Oregon in the United States. Major mountain chains are located in Scotland...